U.S. patent application number 11/010334 was filed with the patent office on 2006-05-18 for luggage.
This patent application is currently assigned to C&C LUGGAGE MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.. Invention is credited to Hsi-Wu Chiang.
Application Number | 20060102435 11/010334 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 36385035 |
Filed Date | 2006-05-18 |
United States Patent
Application |
20060102435 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Chiang; Hsi-Wu |
May 18, 2006 |
Luggage
Abstract
A luggage has a case with a plurality of wheels on a bottom side
thereof. A brake apparatus is provided in the case to brake the
wheels. A switch is provided on the case for manipulation. A
linkage device is provided in the case to connect the switch and
the brake apparatus, such that activate the switch can operate the
brake apparatus.
Inventors: |
Chiang; Hsi-Wu; (Taichung,
TW) |
Correspondence
Address: |
BACON & THOMAS, PLLC
625 SLATERS LANE
FOURTH FLOOR
ALEXANDRIA
VA
22314
US
|
Assignee: |
C&C LUGGAGE MANUFACTURING CO.,
LTD.
TAICHUNG
TW
|
Family ID: |
36385035 |
Appl. No.: |
11/010334 |
Filed: |
December 14, 2004 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
188/19 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B62B 5/04 20130101; A45C
5/145 20130101; B60T 1/005 20130101; B62B 5/0438 20130101; B62B
5/0461 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
188/019 |
International
Class: |
B62B 5/04 20060101
B62B005/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 12, 2004 |
TW |
93134842 |
Claims
1. A luggage, comprising: a case having a bottom side; a plurality
of wheels pivoted on the bottom side of the case, and a brake
apparatus having a braking portion adjacent to the wheel and a
switch on the case, wherein the braking portion is moved to press
the wheel and leave the wheel, and the switch is manipulated to
move the braking portion.
2. The luggage as defined in claim 1, wherein the brake apparatus
further has at least a stop device, on which the braking portion is
provided, and the stop device is connected to the switch to be
driven for movement.
3. The luggage as defined in claim 2, further comprising a linkage
device on the case to connect the switch and the stop device.
4. The luggage as defined in claim 3, wherein the case has a
plurality of ribs projected from an interior side thereof, which
are arranged circularly and have a teeth portion on distal ends
thereof and slots between the neighboring ribs respectively, and
the brake apparatus has a rotary device received in a space within
the ribs, which has a plurality of ribs with a protrusion at an
distal end thereof respectively, and the rotary device is driven by
the switch for a movement between a first position, in which the
ribs of the rotary device are received in the slots of the ribs
respectively, and a second position, in which the teeth portion of
the ribs are engaged with the protrusions of the rotary device, and
the rotary device is rotated within the movement as well.
5. The luggage as defined in claim 4, further comprising a biasing
device adapted to move the rotary device toward the first position
thereof.
6. The luggage as defined in claim 5, wherein the stop device is
pivoted on the case, and the linkage device further has a first
lever with a middle portion thereof pivoted on the case and a
driven device, wherein the first lever has an end connected to the
switch and an opposite end pivoted on an end of the driven device,
and an opposite end of the driven device is connected to the
braking portion.
7. A luggage as defined in claim 6, wherein the driven device has a
first linkage, a second linkage and a second lever, in which the
second lever has a middle portion pivoted on the case and opposite
ends pivoted on ends of the first linkage and the second linkage,
and an opposite end of the first linkage is pivoted on the opposite
end of the first lever, and an opposite end of the second linkage
is pivoted on the braking portion.
8. The luggage as defined in claim 2, wherein the case has a
plurality of ribs projected from an interior side thereof, which
are arranged circularly and have a teeth portion on distal ends
thereof and slots between the neighboring ribs respectively, and
the brake apparatus has a rotary device received in a space within
the ribs, which has a plurality of ribs with a protrusion at an
distal end thereof respectively, and the rotary device is driven by
the switch for a movement between a first position, in which the
ribs of the rotary device are received in the slots of the ribs
respectively, and a second position, in which the teeth portion of
the ribs are engaged with the protrusions of the rotary device, and
stop device is a long bar with the braking portion at an end
thereof, which an opposite end thereof is against the rotary
device.
9. The luggage as defined in claim 8, further comprising a biasing
device exerted on the stop device adapted to move the rotary device
toward the first position.
10. The luggage as defined in claim 2, wherein the braking portion
of the stop device is made of a flexible material.
11. The luggage as defined in claim 10, wherein the wheel has a
plurality of concave portions to be engaged with the braking
portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0001] 1. Field of the Invention
[0002] The present invention relates generally to a wheeled
luggage, and more particularly to a luggage with a brake for
control.
[0003] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0004] Luggages are the common equipment of travelers to store
personal goods. The conventional luggage has a case, two wheels on
a bottom of the case and a retractable handle on a top. User can
hold the handle and draw the luggage to run.
[0005] The wheels of the conventional luggage are free to run, such
that the luggage is easy to be moved unexpectedly while the luggage
is not held by user and an external force is exerted on the
luggage. The luggage is hard to stands stably on a slope as well.
The uncontrolled luggage might cause accident or damage.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0006] The primary objective of the present invention is to provide
a luggage, which is provided with a brake apparatus to control the
wheels to prevent the luggage from moving unexpectedly.
[0007] The secondary objective of the present invention is to
provide a luggage, which is provided with a switch to operate the
stop device exerted on the wheels.
[0008] The third objective of the present invention is to provide a
luggage, which is provided with a switch to make user easier to
operate the brake apparatus.
[0009] According to the objectives of the present invention, a
luggage comprises a case having a bottom side, a plurality of
wheels pivoted on the bottom side of the case, and a brake
apparatus having a braking portion adjacent to the wheel and a
switch on the case. The braking portion is moved to press the wheel
and leave the wheel, and the switch is manipulated to move the
braking portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a first preferred embodiment
of the present invention, showing the wheels not braked;
[0011] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment
of the present invention, showing the rotary device in the first
position;
[0012] FIG. 3 is perspective view of in parts of the switch of the
first preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the wheel of the first
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 5 is similar to FIG. 1, showing the wheels braked;
[0015] FIG. 6 is similar to FIG. 2, showing the rotary device in
the second position;
[0016] FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the first preferred embodiment
of the present invention, showing the stop device deformed because
of the rotation of the wheel;
[0017] FIG. 8 is a sectional view following FIG. 7, showing the
stop device engaged with the wheel again;
[0018] FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a second preferred embodiment
of the present invention, showing the wheels not braked;
[0019] FIG. 10 is similar to FIG. 9, showing the wheels braked;
[0020] FIG. 11 is a perspective view of in parts of the second
preferred embodiment of the present invention;
[0021] FIG. 12 is a sectional view of a third preferred embodiment
of the present invention, showing the wheels not braked, and
[0022] FIG. 13 is similar to FIG. 12, showing the wheels braked
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0023] As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a luggage 1 of the first
preferred embodiment of the present invention comprises a case 10,
a handle 15, four wheels 16, a brake apparatus 20, two linkage
devices 28 and a biasing device 34, which is a spring in the
present invention.
[0024] The case 10 has a top side 11, a bottom side 12, a recess 13
on the top side 11 and ribs 14 projected from a base face 131 of
the recess 13. The ribs 14 are arranged circularly and the base
face 131 has an opening within the ribs 14. The ribs 14 have a
teeth portion 141 at distal ends thereof and slots 142 are formed
between the ribs 14.
[0025] The handle 15 has a retractable bar 151, as shown in FIG. 1,
to be manipulative to be drawn out or received in the case 1. The
handle 15 is a conventional device, so I'll not describe the detail
here.
[0026] The case 1 is provided with four wheel bases 18 at corners
of the bottom side 12 thereof, each of which has a hollow axle 17
to connect the wheels 16 thereon for free rotation, as shown in
FIG. 4. The wheels 16 have concave portions 161 and convex portions
162 on peripheries thereof.
[0027] The brake apparatus 20 has a switch 21 on the case 1 and two
stop devices 26. The stop devices 26 are pivoted on the bottom side
12 of the case 1 adjacent to two of the wheels 16 respectively. As
shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the switch 21 has a button 22, which is
consisted of a plate 23 fitted to a tube 24, and a rotary device
25. The plate 23 has an active portion 23a to be pressed by user
and the tube has protrusions 241 on a periphery and a teeth portion
242 at a distal end thereof. The tube 24 is inserted into the space
in the ribs 14 via the opening of the base face 131 of the recess
13 with the protrusions 241 received in the slots 142 respectively.
The tube 24 is movable along the space and the protrusions 241
provide the tube 24 a top dead end of movement.
[0028] An end of the rotary device 25 has a teeth portion 251 and
is inserted into the tube 24 to be meshed with the teeth portion
242 of the tube 24. The rotary device 25 further has ribs 252 at a
portion thereof beyond the tube 24, each of which has a protrusion
253 to be engaged with the teeth portions 141 of the ribs 14 of the
case 1 respectively.
[0029] The stop device 26 is pivoted on the wheel base 18 and has a
flexible braking portion 26a at a distal end thereof.
[0030] The linkage device 18 is provided to be the connection
between the switch 21 and the stop device 26. The linkage devices
28 has a driven bar 29 to be in contact with the rotary device 25
always via the spring 34. Each of the linkage devices 28 has a
first level 30, a first linkage 31, a second level 32 and a second
linkage 33. The first level 30 has a middle portion pivoted on the
case 1 and opposite end pivoted on an end of the driven bar 29 and
an end of the first linkage 31. An opposite end of the first
linkage 31 is pivoted on an end of the second level 32. The second
level 33 runs through the axle 17 and pivoted on the stop device
26.
[0031] As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the stop device 26 is kept a
distance from the wheel 16 and the wheel 16 is free for rotation.
The spring 34 push the rotary device 25 and the switch 21 upwards
via the driven bar 29 and the teeth portion 242 of the tube 24 does
not engaged with the teeth portion 251 of the rotary device 25 (the
teeth portions 242 and 251 are only in touch with each other), in
which the ribs 252 are received in the slots 142 to move the rotary
device 25 to a first position P1 (seeing FIG. 2) adjacent to the
base face 131.
[0032] As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, the plate 23 is pressed to
push the tube 24 and the rotary device 25 downwards, in which the
tubs 24 is restricted by the ribs 14 to move linearly only and the
rotary device 25 is rotated a little by the action of the teeth
portions 242 being gradually engaged the teeth portion 251 while
the ribs 252 of the rotary device 25 are moved out of the slot 142.
Now, the spring 34 pushes the rotary device 25 upwards to engage
the protrusion 253 of the ribs 252 with the teeth portion 141, in
which the rotary device 25 is moved distal to the base face 131 to
a second position P2 (seeing FIG. 6). In the meantime, the stop
device 26 is moved toward the wheel 16 via the linkage device 28 to
engage the braking portion 26a with the convex portion 162 of the
wheel 16, such that stop device 26 brakes the wheel 16.
[0033] The advantages of the luggage 1 of the present invention
are:
[0034] 1. The plate 23 is pressed to move the rotary device 25
between the first position P1 and the second position P2, and to
drive the stop device 26 braking or releasing the wheel 16. The
luggage 1 of the present invention still can stand on the ground
stably while user does not hold the luggage 1 and unexpected force
is exerted on the luggage.
[0035] 2. The linkage device 28 has the levers 30 and 32 to reduce
the force that user exerts it on the plate 23 to move the stop
device 26.
[0036] 3. The stop device 26 is provided with the flexible braking
portion 26a that works like a pawl in a ratchet system. As shown in
FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, while the luggage 1 is forced to run in the
condition of the stop device 26 braking the wheel 16, the braking
portion 26a of the stop device 26 is bent and crosses the convex
portion 162 to the next concave portion 161 and is engaged with the
neighboring convex portion 162'. It prevents the brake apparatus 20
of the present invention from damage while the luggage 1 still is
forced to run in the braking condition.
[0037] FIG. 9 and FIG. 10 show a luggage of the second preferred
embodiment of the present invention, which is similar to the
luggage of the first preferred embodiment, except that a position
of the switch 21 is different from that of the switch of the first
preferred embodiment and the linkage device has no second lever and
the second linkage. The first linkage 31 of the second preferred
embodiment has an end pivoted on the stop device 26 directly. The
action of the operation of the brake apparatus of the second
preferred embodiment is opposite to that of the first preferred
embodiment. A replaceable design is that the first linkage 31 has
an end against the wheel 16 (not shown), such that there is no stop
device provided in the luggage.
[0038] In addition, the lever device, such as the first lever 30,
of the first and second preferred embodiments can be replaced by a
transverse bar 36, as shown in FIG. 11. The transverse bar 36 has a
hole to be fitted to a post 35, such that the transverse bar 36 is
reciprocated along the post 35. The transverse bar 36 serves the
same function as the lever device.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. 13, a luggage of the third
preferred embodiment of the present invention, which is similar to
the luggage of the first preferred embodiment, is provided with a
long bar 37 and spring 38 to replace the linkage device 28 and the
spring 34 of the luggage of the first preferred embodiment. The
long bar 37 has an end 37a against the rotary device 25 and an end
37b against wheel 16. The end 37b of the long bar 37 serves a
function like the braking portion 26a of the stop device 26. The
long bar 37 further has a protrusion 371 adjacent to the end 37b,
and the spring 38 is fitted to the long bar 37 between the
protrusion 371 and the axle 17. The luggage of the third preferred
embodiment has the same function as that of the luggage of the
first and second preferred embodiments.
[0040] The location of the switch on the luggage should facilitate
user to operate it or should be chosen for beauty of the
perspective view of the luggage.
[0041] The description above is a few preferred embodiments of the
present invention and the equivalence of the present invention is
still in the scope of the claim of the present invention.
* * * * *